Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Wrap up for Deep Relaxation Workshop

The Deep Relaxation workshop went very well on Saturday. I had 15 students which was perfect for the amount of props on hand. We used just about everything from both studios: all the blankets, bolsters, mats and zafus. I think everyone was pretty comfortable.

We started out talking about Sankalpa: what is it, why do you want one, how do figure one out for yourself and what do you use it for. Everyone was game to try even though this requires digging in to your most personal feelings and then verbalizing what you want in a way that says that you already have it or you already are it. It's a super hard exercise. We are taught from a young age to belittle ourselves and developing our sankalpa is a reversal of this years-long process.

After working through the sankalpa development process we practiced a few breath techniques and then everyone got snuggled in with all their props to the most supported Savasana possible. I talked them through a long Yoga Nidra practice - about 45-50 minutes and we ended with a short gratitude meditation.

For folks who are looking for links to more Yoga Nidra, I suggest looking at my 40 Day Practice write ups. I detail quite a few relaxation CDs/ mp3s there. Also, you can visit my resources page for books and relaxing music.

Thanks everyone for making it out to the workshop. Best of luck in your relaxation journey.